Lanka Milk Foods Ltd vs Kolonnawa Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd – CA 496/99 F-2013

In the case between Lanka Milk Foods Ltd (Plaintiff-Appellant) and Kolonnawa Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd (Defendant-Respondent), the court addressed whether the plaintiff’s claim for recovery of Rs. 519,458.50, arising from supplied milk foods, was barred by prescription under Sri Lankan law. It was held that the action was not prescribed, as the claim, based on a debt, was instituted within three years of the last part payment and subsequent demand, thereby satisfying the prescription requirements under the Prescription Ordinance. The principle reaffirmed is that the limitation period for an action founded on debt is calculated from the date of the last part payment or acknowledgment. The decision relied upon the statutory provisions of the Prescription Ordinance, underscoring th